Internet Archive, No Fair Use. Music in Political Campaigns.
Intro
In this month’s episode of the Entertainment Law Update Podcast, co-hosts Gordon Firemark and Tamera Bennett discuss key entertainment industry developments, including the 2nd Circuit Court ruling that Internet Archive's digital book publication is not fair use of copyright protected works; X's injunction against California Assembly Bill AB 587 relating to social media disclosure requirements; and California's new AI regulations. They also cover: new protections for child influencers' earnings; a wrongful death case against TikTok challenging Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act; a revived copyright lawsuit on Queen Anne’s Revenge; Trump’s legal battles over campaign music; and T.I. and Tiny’s $71 million verdict involving the OMG Girlz dolls.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) Corner Update:
California Governor Gavin Newsom signs three new laws related to generative AI and vetoed the AI safety bill SB 1047 citing concerns the "one-size-fits-all" approach of the bill was too broad. AB 1836, protects deceased individuals by requiring their estate's approval for AI recreations. And AB 2602 prevents contracts from allowing AI replicas to substitute for living performers without specific consent. SB 942 focuses on helping the public more reliably identify AI-generated content. It requires widely-used generative AI systems to include provenance disclosures in the content they generate.
Copyright Case Law Update:
The Internet Archive (IA) in Hachette Book Group, Inc. v. Internet Archive, 23-1260, (2d Cir. Sep 04, 2024) ECF No. 306 lost its appeal in the copyright case against Hachette and three other book publishers. The Second Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the previous decision, from March 2023, that the Internet Archive’s Open Library program qualifies as copyright infringement of works not in the public domain. 500,000 full works are to stay removed from public access through the Internet Archive.
Music In Political Campaigns Update
This election season mimics past cycles, as a flurry of demands and lawsuits are brought by songwriters, artists, and copyright owners against campaigns alleging copyright infringement for the use of songs or sound recordings. The Isaac Hayes family succeeded in obtaining an injunction to block the Donald Trump Campaign from using “Hold On, I’m Comin’.” The court did not require the removal of videos featuring the song from social media, which the Trump Campaign claims as a win. On the podcast, Tamera and Gordon go in-depth on changes made by public performance rights organizations, specifically ASCAP and BMI, allowing copyright holders to remove certain songs from blanket public performance licenses for political campaigns.
This and much more in this episode of Entertainment Law Update.
